“Come!” he called out to whoever was at the door.
It creaked open, and the front guard, Richard, poked his head in. “Senator, there’s a Robert Sanders here to see you, sir.”
Her father gave a quick nod. “Send him in.” Once Richard retreated, her father turned back to her. “Whatever you have to say, Grace, hold it until we're finished with this business. Perhaps it will illuminate your understanding a little better about the situation we’re in.”
Grace grimaced, wishing she had just forced the words out or could think of a way to put off this Robert Sanders person, but the sound of hard-soled shoes was already pounding on the marble flooring outside her father’s office. She snuck a look at Jared, and he gave her a minuscule nod.
They could wait a few more minutes.
When the door opened, a tall, slender man strode in, wearing an ill-fitting suit but full of confidence. He moved with the kind of controlled power that reminded her of her father. “Good morning, Senator.”
Her father was back at his desk, poking at his tablet. He waved in Grace’s general direction. “Sanders, is my daughter, Grace.” He looked up with a serious expression on his face. “I think it’s time we read her in on everything.”
Sanders turned to her, a skeptical look on his face. He opened his mouth to say something but cut off when he caught sight of Jared behind her.
“What the—” But then he didn’t bother with words, he just reached into his jacket. Before Grace could even react, a blur of fur flashed past her.
Jared had shifted. Grace gasped, but before she could blink, Sanders had pulled a gun. Three shots banged through her father’s office, piercing her eardrums and stopping her heart.
She screamed, her hands flying up against her mouth. Jared had dropped like a stone. He landed on the floor in front of her, a massive hulk of fur.
No, no, no. “What have you done?” Her legs felt weak. Her father hurried around the desk and skittered to a stop in front of Jared’s body. She wanted to go to Jared, but the man still had his gun pointed at Jared’s head.
“No!” Her father held up his hand to Sanders. “What are you doing? I can’t have dead bodies in my office!”
Sanders hesitated, but Jared started to move, struggling to rise up from the floor. The man gave him a swift kick. His shiny black shoes came away bloody.
“Oh, God,” Grace sobbed, but she was frozen in place. Sanders quickly holstered his gun and pulled out another one. He pulled the trigger three times in rapid succession, but instead of bullets, it left darts sticking out of Jared’s fur coat.
He slumped to the floor and stayed down.
A shiver grabbed hold of Grace and convulsed her from head to toe. Her wolf screamed in protest, wanting to come out to protect her alpha. But it was too late. Jared’s gun lay on the floor, dropped along with his clothes. She wanted to pick it up, but she wouldn’t even know how to use it.
“How could you?” Grace shouted at both men.
Her father stared at Jared’s body. “How did you know?” he calmly asked Sanders, who was putting away his tranq gun.
“That is Jared River,” he said coolly. “I had him in custody once. He’s one of the River brothers that have been causing such trouble for us.”
“These animals are everywhere,” her father said in disgust. “Do you see what I mean, Grace? They’re trying to kill us. They’re criminals and spies. And apparently that threat against your life was all too real. Get Richard in here! I want to know how this happened. I want to know how a shifter ended up being a bodyguard for my daughter!”
Grace’s hands shook, so she clenched them at her sides. Her body finally unlocked, and she stumbled to the floor, falling to her knees next to Jared, tears spilling. Her fingers automatically buried in his fur. “He’s not a criminal! He’s a man… a good man.” The pain and anger and fear washed over her—she couldn’t even tell if he was alive.
“Grace, get away from that animal!” her father yelled, reaching to haul her up from the floor.
She yanked away from him, scrambling backward. A shiver ran down her again from head to foot, but this time it was more—she was shifting. She tried to control it, tried to stop it, but she couldn’t. Her wolf was in agony and needed to come out.
She snapped through the shift and lurched to Jared’s side. She lay her furry head on his chest, listening for a heartbeat. In the shocked silence that followed her shifting, she could just barely hear the thumping of his heart, slow and weak. Her wolf whined for him and nuzzled into him, oblivious to what was going on around her. She didn’t care—all she wanted was for Jared to be all right.